conlangfandomcom-20200223-history
Qärr
Setting A language of a scavenger species that evolved to sentience. Phonology Consonants Vowels Phonotactics Syllable Structure Each syllable has a maximum structure of: C''' - 'C'onsonant '''O - O'''bstruent (plosives and fricatives) '''S- S'''emivowel (trills and nasals) '''V - V'owel Vowel Allophony The vowels "a" and "u" have varied pronouciation. Ablaut Qäŕ employs a system of grammatical horizontal ablaut. Certain grammatical features use ablaut as a marker and instead of phonemes, a - x suffix is added, where "x" is the amount of ablaut steps. Note that the progression of ablaut is simmilar to a sine curve, going back and forth, so - is equal - Basic Grammar Standard Verbs Aspect There are 8 aspects: *'Inchoative' - Start of action, *'Gnomic '- General truth, *'Perfective '- Action viewed as a simple whole, with an obvious end, *'Imperfective' - Action viewed with an internal structure, *'Progressive' - Incomplete action in progress, *'Terminative '- End of action, *'Experiental' - Action done multiple times before, *'Repetitive '- Repetition of action, Aspects can be combined. Mood There are 7 moods: *'Indicative '- Shows something, general mood, *'Generic '- Shows attribute, *'Declarative '- Presents the states as the truth without evidence, *'Subjunctive '- Discussing hypothetical or unlikely events or the preset situation, "if... then...", *'Imperative '- Expresses commands or requests, *'Dubivative '- Expresses doubt or uncertainty about the event, *'Permissive '- Indicates that the action is permitted by the speaker, subject or both, Moods can sometimes be combined. Tense There are 8 tenses: *'Present '- General present, **'Propial' - Temporally proximate, *'Future' - General future, **'Immediate' - Near future, **'Remote' - Far future, *'Past' - General past, **'Ancestral' - Distant past, **'Immediate' - Immediate or close past, Tenses cannot be combined. Voice *'Active/Direct' - Generic voice, A=A S=S and O=O , *'Relfexive' - Voice where the A=O and/or S=O, *'Devalent' - Voice where A=S and O=O, *'Inverse' - Voice where A=O O=A and S=S, **'Inverse Devalent' - Voice where O=A and A=S, The DIR is the default voice. The RFL is made by adding a reflexive marker on the verb (and sometimes demoting it). The DEV is the secondary counterpart to the DIR. The INV is made by adding an inverse marker to the verb. The INVDEV is made by adding an inverse marker to a DEV verb. Dual Polarity Where most, if not all, languages have a polar distinction between positive and negative forms, Qäŕ has a dual polarity, a distinction of vs. and vs. . While the positive/negative distinction may be obvious, static/dynamic isn't: The Static form indicates default plan, while the Dynamic form indicates a deviation, a change from the original, default plan. Both Pos/Neg and Stat/Dyn are obligatorily marked. Evidentiality There are five optional evidentialities: Locative Prefix There are 9 rare locational prefixes: Infinitive There are two infinitives and they can be marked to any extent. They are: Agent Marker Agent markers indicate which person is the agent of the verb: These can be replaced with an incorporated word. Number There are three numbers: Reflexive There's one reflexive marker: 'Verb Structure' In Qäŕ, each verb is a combination of root, prefixes and suffixes. There's a relatively rigid system of a verb template in Qäŕ: Affix Forms Each affix has at least one form: Examples Here's an example of a fully inflected verb versus a minimally inflected verb: 1) roacözanaatözaqaxzsefäzskaelasaar ro-ac-öz-anaa-'töza'-qax-zsef-äz-ska-ela-saar PEVR-NEG-DYN-INV-'food'-GUS-IDP.DCL.EXP-DEV-PRX-DUA-INF2 *''While it could be tasted as the truth that the two of them weren't just being eaten everywhere as though experienced in this by themselves...'' The above translation isn't exactly correct, but the approximate translation can be considered good enough. Note the sentence's incompleteness in English which also applies to the original. 2) tözaselela töza-sel-ela food-2ND-DU *''The two of you eat.'' Auxilliary Verbs Auxilliary verbs behave different from standard verbs. They are used to mark things left unmarked by standard verbs. There are seven auxilliary verbs: #'deöq' - to exist #'c'sä' - copula #'uŕo '- #'rrsn' #'zgakh' #'th'sa' #'zaxo' Dictionary Example text Category:Languages